Thrifty Veggie Mamahttp://www.thriftyveggiemama.com
Mon, 02 Feb 2015 20:25:59 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.3Menu Plan | Week of February 10, 2014http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/02/menu-plan-week-february-10-2014/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/02/menu-plan-week-february-10-2014/#commentsMon, 10 Feb 2014 10:00:59 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3053I have really been lacking in motivation the past week or two. I haven’t been on a run in over a week. Not so good when I have already registered for my first marathon this fall. To get my run in I really have to get up at 5 and hit the treadmill. The problem: […]

I have really been lacking in motivation the past week or two. I haven’t been on a run in over a week. Not so good when I have already registered for my first marathon this fall. To get my run in I really have to get up at 5 and hit the treadmill. The problem: my bed is just too warm and cozy and it’s hard to convince myself to head to the treadmill in the dark, cold basement. This week I have enlisted the help of a friend who is going to text me at 5 on the days I want to run and I’ll text her when I get up and start my run. Having some accountability to someone else will make me more likely to myself out to bed. I hope.

I think getting up earlier will really help my motivation all around as it will give me time to get in a Bible Study and a little quiet time before everyone else gets up. Plus, I always do feel better after I do an early morning run. I feel more accomplished the whole day.

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/02/menu-plan-week-february-10-2014/feed/3Vegan Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookieshttp://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/vegan-whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-cookies/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/vegan-whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-cookies/#commentsThu, 30 Jan 2014 11:00:59 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3047 These vegan whole wheat chocolate chip cookies are the perfect snow day distraction We have been having lots of cold weather and snow days here. We have had 7 snow days, the first one being the day before Christmas vacation. And then we had 3 days after Christmas vacation was supposed to be over. Then […]

These vegan whole wheat chocolate chip cookies are the perfect snow day distraction

We have been having lots of cold weather and snow days here. We have had 7 snow days, the first one being the day before Christmas vacation. And then we had 3 days after Christmas vacation was supposed to be over. Then two more this week. We have had lots of beautiful snow but unfortunately it has been too cold to play in it much.

I am a bit of a homebody and enjoy staying home, especially when it’s frigid outside and I have 3 kids to drag along, so I have actually enjoyed the snow days. However, the kids start to get cabin fever and begin to climb the walls. Or drive you up them.

Cookies to the rescue. They can help you mix up the dough, while stealing a few licks. One of the advantages of vegan baking. Then they can look forward to a warm and gooey chocolate chip cookie. All in all you’ve occupied them for close to half an hour.

I’ve tried a few different recipes for vegan chocolate chip cookies and have finally found the winner.

These cookies are so good no one will guess that they are vegan. And they are moderately healthy. Well, as far as chocolate chip cookies go.

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/vegan-whole-wheat-chocolate-chip-cookies/feed/3Menu Plan | Week of January 27, 2014http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/menu-plan-week-january-27-2014/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/menu-plan-week-january-27-2014/#commentsTue, 28 Jan 2014 01:08:19 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3044So I’m just a little late on my menu plan this week. We were out of town at my parents this weekend. My parents live out in the country and we were literally snowed in Saturday. They live on country roads and the snow and high winds combined to create some crazy drifts. The weather […]

So I’m just a little late on my menu plan this week. We were out of town at my parents this weekend. My parents live out in the country and we were literally snowed in Saturday. They live on country roads and the snow and high winds combined to create some crazy drifts. The weather improved on Sunday and we were able to make it home.

We had a little more snow over night last night. I was thinking there might be a snow day but there was school today. I was glad because I had to work today. We have some more high winds and extreme winds tonight so school is closed for tomorrow. Thankfully I already had the day off!

We have had such a crazy winter. I was actually worried that we wouldn’t have a white Christmas. We have had snow on the ground since the week before Christmas and it doesn’t look like it will be leaving any time soon!

Normally I would get groceries tomorrow since I have the day off but I made a quick stop tonight to avoid taking 3 kids out in the cold. We made a quick stop on the way home tonight but I didn’t have a list which is disastrous. I forgot a few things but we will be making due until Friday when I have another day off and it will be a little warmer.

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/menu-plan-week-january-27-2014/feed/1Weekly Menu Plan | Week of January 20, 2014http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/weekly-menu-plan-week-january-20-2014/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/weekly-menu-plan-week-january-20-2014/#commentsMon, 20 Jan 2014 11:00:00 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3038Last week we got back into the back to school routine. This week is a short week as there is no school today. I followed last week’s menu plan pretty closely. We discovered a couple new favorites including the pierogies sheet pan meal and the lasagna soup. For the pierogies I swapped the kielbasa for […]

Last week we got back into the back to school routine. This week is a short week as there is no school today. I followed last week’s menu plan pretty closely. We discovered a couple new favorites including the pierogies sheet pan meal and the lasagna soup. For the pierogies I swapped the kielbasa for Lightlife Italian sausage. The kids really loved it. I will be posting the lasagna soup recipe later this week as I made a few changes.

Last week I signed up for my first marathon! I am both excited and nervous at the same time. I have been thinking about doing a full for a couple of years now and decided that I need to just do it. I hope to get outside for a run today even though with the windchill the temps are only in the low teens. The treadmill just gets so boring!

The rest of today (it’s Sunday when I write this) will be a pretty lazy day with some laundry and some football.

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/weekly-menu-plan-week-january-20-2014/feed/2Weekly Menu Plan | Week of January 13, 2014http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/weekly-menu-plan-week-january-13-2014/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/weekly-menu-plan-week-january-13-2014/#commentsMon, 13 Jan 2014 11:00:00 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3009We had a bit of a warm up this weekend with temperatures in the 30s and some sunshine! It’s amazing how warm 30 feels. Saturday we had a popcorn and movie night and watched Monsters University. It was pretty cute. Yesterday we got a piano! I played piano as a child but haven’t played in […]

We had a bit of a warm up this weekend with temperatures in the 30s and some sunshine! It’s amazing how warm 30 feels. Saturday we had a popcorn and movie night and watched Monsters University. It was pretty cute.

Yesterday we got a piano! I played piano as a child but haven’t played in years. L, the oldest, has been taking lessons but we only had a keyboard for her to practice on. We found a piano on Craigslist and were able to enlist the help of some great friends to get it to our house. I repaid them with brunch. No maybe I will polish up the on the piano playing skills and I’m hoping having a real piano will encourage L to practice a little more.

We have some yummy meals planned for this week that I am really excited about. Hubby is most excited about the pierogies you will see on the menu plan for Tuesday.

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/weekly-menu-plan-week-january-13-2014/feed/3Project 365| Week 1http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/project-365-week-1/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/project-365-week-1/#commentsFri, 10 Jan 2014 11:00:00 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3007This year as one of my goals I decided to complete Project 365. In this project you are to take one photo a day for the entire year. I would like to improve my photography and I am horrible about taking and printing photos. My poor 3rd child only has a few printed photos around […]

This year as one of my goals I decided to complete Project 365. In this project you are to take one photo a day for the entire year. I would like to improve my photography and I am horrible about taking and printing photos. My poor 3rd child only has a few printed photos around the house. I decided to tackle this project to help me become better at those two things and also to help me better appreciate the extraordinary in my everyday life.

Every Friday I am going to recap my photos for the week. So here are my photos from January 1- January 7

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/project-365-week-1/feed/0Vegan Tater Tot Nachoshttp://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/vegan-tater-tot-nachos/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/vegan-tater-tot-nachos/#commentsThu, 09 Jan 2014 10:30:00 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3022These vegan tater tot nachos are a quick meal the whole family will love I made these nachos for our dinner on New Years Eve. They are festive enough for a party and easy enough for a busy weeknight. We aren’t big New Years Eve party animals. We had this delicious dinner, played with the kids […]

These vegan tater tot nachos are a quick meal the whole family will love

I made these nachos for our dinner on New Years Eve. They are festive enough for a party and easy enough for a busy weeknight. We aren’t big New Years Eve party animals. We had this delicious dinner, played with the kids for a bit and had some yummy snacks. At 8:00 we pretended it was midnight (even set the clock ahead!) and had a toast with the kiddos.

After the kids were in bed, hubby and I cozied up in front of the fire and played a game of Phase 10. We didn’t even stay awake until midnight. We were in bed by 11 which is late for me!

Back to the nachos. I cheated and used tater tots for this because I wanted something easy but I have also make this by slicing up some potatoes and roasting those first. This time I also used Lightlife burger crumbles but we have used seasoned black beans before too.

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/vegan-tater-tot-nachos/feed/1What I Ate Wednesdayhttp://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/ate-wednesday/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/ate-wednesday/#commentsWed, 08 Jan 2014 10:00:07 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3016This year I am going to try and get back in the habit of these What I Ate Wednesday posts. I like doing them but I always forget to take pictures before I eat! The pictures I have in this post are actually not from the same day-they are a mix of Sunday and Monday. […]

This year I am going to try and get back in the habit of these What I Ate Wednesday posts. I like doing them but I always forget to take pictures before I eat!

The pictures I have in this post are actually not from the same day-they are a mix of Sunday and Monday. Breakfast isn’t pictured for either day because I am the worst about documenting that meal. Mostly because I am either in a rush or not quite ready to start functioning at top speed. We aren’t back into school from Christmas break yet so I wasn’t in a hurry. Not sure what my excuse is then!

Monday we all had a snow day here as we had a giant snow storm on Sunday bringing us at least 12 inches of snow and lots of blowing and drifting. Today schools were closed again because of the extreme cold. It was -13 when I got up this morning and the wind chills were about -30.

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/ate-wednesday/feed/4Menu Plan| Week of January 6, 2014http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/menu-plan-week-january-6-2014/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/menu-plan-week-january-6-2014/#commentsMon, 06 Jan 2014 11:00:34 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=3004Happy New Year! Since it is a new year I figure it is time to get back to writing on this blog I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. Ours were really great. Before Christmas we got the flu and lost electricity for a couple days but everyone was healthy and the […]

Since it is a new year I figure it is time to get back to writing on this blog I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. Ours were really great. Before Christmas we got the flu and lost electricity for a couple days but everyone was healthy and the lights were back on for our big Christmas gathering.
We have been having a cold and snowy winter here in Michigan. In fact, as I am writing this we are in the midst of a snowstorm which could (and looks like it will) bring us more than a foot of snow. We already had a few inches on the ground before this. School is already cancelled for tomorrow so we get to extend Christmas vacation a little longer!
I admit I am not ready to get back to the morning routine and the lunch making.

I didn’t really set any New Years Resolutions this year but I did set some goals. I set quite a few so I could incorporate all areas of my life.

Here a few of my goals: 1. Run my first marathon 2. Log 1000 miles running this year 3. Daily Bible Study- I am using Jesus Calling and also reading through the Bible 4. Project 365- I am really excited about this as I am bad about taking pictures and getting them printed. I already bought my Project Life book for it. More on this on Friday. 5. I really want to work on building my friendships so I am going to make more of an effort to call friends and send handwritten notes. I bought some fun new stationery and Note Cards 6. Monthly date nights, even if they are just at-home dates.

I kinda got off track with the menu planning over the Holidays but am ready to get back. Here is our menu plan for this week. There are a few recipes from the Vegan Slow Cooking for Two cookbook. My mom left her’s here so I found a few recipes in there that I want to try.

]]>http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2014/01/menu-plan-week-january-6-2014/feed/4Weekly Menu Plan | Week of November 18, 2013http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2013/11/weekly-menu-plan-week-of-november-18-2013/
http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/2013/11/weekly-menu-plan-week-of-november-18-2013/#commentsSun, 17 Nov 2013 20:51:43 +0000http://www.thriftyveggiemama.com/?p=2998Has it really been over a month since I posted on here?! How did that happen? I went back to working part time the end of October and unfortunately the blog has kinda pushed onto the back burner. I’ve missed posting though so I am going to make more of an effort to make my […]

Has it really been over a month since I posted on here?! How did that happen? I went back to working part time the end of October and unfortunately the blog has kinda pushed onto the back burner. I’ve missed posting though so I am going to make more of an effort to make my blogging more of a priority.

Today is the start of the Holiday Bootie Busting Challenge put on by Run To The Finish. In this challenge you get points for eating your fruits and veggies, doing regular workouts, and drinking your water. The challenge goes through the end of the year so I will be posting about that occasionally. Today I got off to a good start by doing a 5K with my sister.